This was a nice, spooky YA read. It's targeted audience is reluctant readers. It accomplishes this very well. With easy sentences and short chapters, the book goes quickly. It still has detail and is a satisfying read. I also loved the supernatural elements. 4 stars.

I really enjoyed reading the author's previous book 'The Door'. And that was the reason why I requested this book.

Tamika’s mother doesn't allow her to go to Paris with her friends (because she is just 15). Instead, they travel to Virginia to see her grandaunt who is in a coma, and they are the only relatives.
Aunt Lati is an artist and her house is full of mysterious paintings. Each painting has human figures in it who either seem to stare back at Tamika or seem to be moving.

Intriguing? Yes. But the problem is that nothing else happens. Tamika just roams around the house and looks at the painting and feels this oddness, and shrugs it off.
That's it. And this goes on till the 10th chapter (out of 20). After that, I totally lost interest and patience.
I am immensely disappointed.

i liked the writing! though the ending definitely left me wanting for more, and the twist was kinda just, fine. that’s all. i did like how the book was wrapped up, but i think it was just a shy too short. it would do no harm to extend the plot by a few good pages. there just wasn’t much that was explained? some plot points were left unresolved. tbh i could really see this being a series considering there is more that could be explored.

i found the relationship between Tamika and her mom to be pretty realistic to a restless teen girl and a parent just trying to get by. the mom’s behaviour can be pretty frustrating
whenever she’s present though— there were times i felt like she was downright awful and dismissive towards her daughter, and she had zero redeeming qualities. Tamika herself was alright, i don’t have too much of an opinion on her.

overall, it was sweet and simple for what it was. its geared towards a younger audience, so it makes sense that the story can’t be dark as it possibly could’ve been, and part of the reason why i felt the ending was sorta lackluster. would recommend anybody in the targeted audience for a quick and fun read, for despite its flaws it was still somewhat intriguing.

thank you to NetGalley, Jan Fields, and Jolly Fish Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Check out my GoodReads review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7628992072

With The World Inside, Jan Fields writes a contained, modern gotchic horror that's a perfect gateway to the genre for younger readers.

The story opens with Tamika having the worst summer break whilst her friends are away in Paris. Things become worse when she travels with her mother to her great-aunt Lati's farmhouse interstate. Lati is in hospital with a coma, and so Tamika and her mum are tasked with taking care of the old house while she recovers. Lati's house isn't the typical house though; it's filled with paintings covering every wall in the house. As Tamika explores the house and the paintings, she learns that they may be aware of her than she realises...

This is a great little spooky story about pushing through fear and exploring the unknown. It's about those times when you're away from home and discover yourself in the mysterious, and seeing the ones you love in a new light.

This is the first time I've read a title targeted at younger readers in a really long time, and I had a great time with it! It's a super breezy read, and yet I still found myself invested in the characters and moved by the end of the story. As an avid fan of horror and champion for the genre, I think it's so important that we have stories like these that give people an entryway without it being overly scary or violent. This is a perfect way for young readers to experience something spooky, so I gotta recommend it!

4.7 / 5
I personally really enjoyed this book. Simple, eerie, and from an author that clearly knows what they’re doing. I’ve been a huge fan of these simpler written spooky stories lately. I’m an adult, but they’ve been grabbing my attention and making it much easier to get into reading again, even on the days that I don’t feel like reading otherwise.

It’s beyond unfair to the author about the 2 and 3 star reviews complaining about the simplicity of the writing- the description literally says “written at a 2nd- to 3rd-grade reading level”. It is not the author’s fault if people miss that.
This book is perfect if you are:
🖼️ Looking for a simple, creepy read- but nothing intense
🖼️ Introducing yourself to scary stories
🖼️ Reluctant to get into reading
I just wish it was slightly longer so the ending could be wrapped up less abruptly. Other than that, I enjoyed it!

This book was a quick and easy read with a solid cast of characters and a decent plot. I’d probably describe this story as horror lite or maybe horror adjacent (think The Yellow Wallpaper, because let’s be real- I read that short story 10+ years ago and it still lives rent free in my mind) but it ultimately has a happy ending for everyone involved. I’d recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a short, intriguing read from start to finish. There was not a single dull moment!

This would probably be more like a 2.5 stars for me. It was an interesting & quick read, but I misinterpreted and thought it was more of a YA book, rather than a middle grade. The sentences and chapter are very short so you can read through it quickly, which would be great for younger readers. Even though I’m definitely not the right age demographic now I know middle school me would’ve really enjoyed it. The overall concept is interesting and the cover is cool.

The concept of this book was so interesting and I loved the eeriness of the story. The short sentences and simple descriptions were giving off middle grade vibes, Im not sure if this book is intended for younger audiences. If it is, it would be perfect for middle schoolers.

This was such a soft and eerie little read. It gave me that quiet, haunted summer vibe without going too dark. I really liked Tamika as a main character, she felt real and creative, and her emotional journey blended beautifully with the ghostly mystery.

The pacing was quick, the atmosphere was strong, and the whole story felt like a gentle whisper of something bigger underneath. Perfect if you're in the mood for a light, spooky escape with heart.

I somehow missed the memo that this book (and others published by Horizon’s Hi-Lo books) are aimed at reluctant teen readers and are written at a 2nd- to 3rd-grade reading level, with an interest level of ages 14 and up. The chapters are short, and the sentences are very simple. Due to the cover (that I am deeply obsessed with, by the way) and the description, I was expecting this to be an upper-YA thriller/horror, and this book fell short based on the expectations I invented for myself rather than the book itself.

Overall, it's an interesting and engaging concept, but I was left with a lot of unanswered questions due to the short page count and there not being enough room for further development. The secrets are not overly disturbing, as promised in the description. We don't find out how the paintings were created or if the paintings had the potential to ooze out into the real world. I would love to read an upper-YA/adult version of this that can commit to the horror I was expecting. But it's fast-paced, and the characters are as interesting as they can be for the time they were given, and I imagine the intended audience will be able to enjoy the story to its full potential.

a quick, cozy young reader horror. As a painter myself, it was really fun to read a ghost story where paintings were an integral part of the story. The mother in this one really annoyed me, I just didn't like the mother/daughter dynamic in this one. I also felt like the ending was a bit rushed and didn't quite explain everything. This one is a really fun concept, but in the end fell a bit short for me.

Thank you for providing me this ARC opportunity. I have never read anything from this author but was intrigued by the book description and the cover art. In truth, I did not read the book description in full otherwise I would have realized this book was not written for adults. Due to the simplicity of the writing style, I struggled to maintain focus or enjoyment in the book and did not finish it.

Again, thank you for the opportunity and bravo to the cover artist on an intriguing design.

Not bad, just not super memorable So I gave The World Inside a shot because the description sounded cool, and honestly, it wasn’t a bad time. The world the author built was kinda weird in a fun way, and there were moments that kept me interested. The characters didn’t really grab me, and a few parts felt a little rushed. Like, I kept waiting for it to really take off, and it didn't. It’s a quick read though

I liked this short ghost story with a dab of art in it. It's well paced and the writing is good and suiting to the plot.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

good and surprisingly warm vibes throughout. a quick read that feels even faster than it is. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

A unique take on ghost 'hunting' and a sweet family tale. As an artist myself, I enjoyed every minute of it.

I absolutely enjoyed this book! It felt so vivid and personal, especially through the eyes of a young artist like Tamika. The way paintings were woven into the mystery made the story even more captivating.

The premise was already so unique, but the execution made it even better. The plot unfolded in such an intriguing way, with just the right mix of eerie, emotional, and imaginative moments. I loved how the story slowly built its atmosphere and how the paintings worked was genius!

This was not the book for me. I was not interested from page one. The title, cover, and synopsis is misleading because this book fell way below expectations.,

Another quick read! I really enjoyed this YA novella. At 160 pages, it can be difficult telling a full story, but the meat of the story was there. It did wrap up really quickly though. At the heart, The World Inside is a ghost story that also contains generational supernatural abilities. There is also a found family trope which always gives me the warm and fuzzies. The language was consistent with the YA genre.

One issue that bothered me is there is so much emphasis on Tamika being a poor reader which is fine, but it was discussed so much that I anticipated some sort of growth in that area or some resolution with it and there was none. It seems like a personality trait that didn't progress the story and could have been cut.

Thank you NetGalley and North Star Editions for the ARC read in exchange for an honest review!

I know we aren’t supposed to judge books by there covers but I was absolutely intrigued from the moment I saw this cover! A gloriously twisted summer story where a young girl goes with her mother to look after her Great Aunts house…that’s filled with paintings… what could make this summer any worse or weirder?

This is an interesting story, probably better for high schoolers but still an interesting story nonetheless!

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️